UCF LB Tackett Curtis Breaks Down Game-Changing Interception vs. No. 2 BYU

Emotions, a lot happened at the end of that game. Just to know that you pulled it out and beat the number two team in the country. The students stormed the field, kind of what's going through your mind right now. Yeah, man, just so happy, so excited for everybody in this program. That we were able to get that win. Man, it means so much to me and everybody in here. It just kind of shows the belief that we have in each other. So, just so happy for everybody and proud and really excited about this program. When's the last time you've been involved in the sports career this morning? I was fortunate enough to have one last year at Wisconsin, but man, it doesn't top this. It definitely doesn't top this, man. I was just talking to a few guys, and this is the biggest ranked win in UCF history. So being a part of this, man, it's so special to me. Scott said that the defense, he felt like, played a lot tougher, a lot more physical in this game. Obviously, they contained Jarrod Rock. What did you guys, was that kind of the mentality going in this week, just to maybe ratchet it up a little bit when it came to defense? Yeah, man, we knew that he was a great player, a great block player. And, man, we just kind of listened to what the coaches, the game plan that they put in for us, Coach Branch and Coach Voss, and tried to execute that the best that we could. And it ended up working out for us. And with Don't Break, you know, how this team just had resiliency for the entire game to come back, go back and forth with having a lead, losing a lead, and then ultimately winning the bend and don't break part of it. Yeah, man, I feel like this program is so special because everybody in here, everybody in this UCF program is really selfless and wants the best for each other and I feel like everybody in here believes in the man to their left and to their right that when the time comes they're going to make that play and we've been in a few close games the previous weeks and I feel like tonight we just knew like we're at home like there's nothing that's going to stop us from winning this game and that was the mentality I feel like that we had all week was like we're going to win this game we're going to do whatever it takes and Coach Paul was just preaching like We have to get better. We have to get better. It was like we're so close in all these games. It's like it's a few plays here and there, but just trust it. Keep believing in each other. So I think that showed tonight. You mentioned tough back-to-back losses there on the road. How did the bye week come at the right time to help rejuvenate this team and help you focus to get this win? I feel like it helped us a lot, especially the way that Coach Paul kind of made it for us and the way that we practiced and how we went into it. And I feel like it helped us a lot. and most likely we were able to win this game. Tackett, how special is this for you? So special, man. This is something I'll never forget my whole life, just that moment when we got to stop and the bounce house kind of erupted, man. It was crazy, and I feel like Knight Nation definitely showed out tonight. The crowd was there the whole game, and it was second to none, one of the best atmospheres I've ever been in in college football. So, man, that was just something special. I'll never forget it. I had a shared journey with defensive coordinator Alex Winch. What is it to see his defense, you guys, perform like this on the top stage? Yeah, it means so much to me because I've kind of been with Coach Grinch through his journey and him with me. And, yeah, man, I just have a real close relationship with him and just want to do everything I can so that he looks good and he succeeds and that the whole team succeeds. And so, man, you're able to do that for your coaches and the people that believe in you, it makes you feel really good. A lot of people talk about the playing 60 minutes, finishing, it was immediate to kind of see that come to fruition, not only for 60 minutes, but then the two overtimes afterwards. Yeah, I feel like that's something that, like all these previous games, we could have won them, we could have won them, and we knew that we're going to have to do something different, take another step, everybody's going to have to give more. But we knew what we were capable of as a team, that we could beat these teams. We were right there with them and all. I feel like tonight, we have been in this situation the past couple weeks, So we were like, man, we need more. We know it's needed. We've got to win the second half, not just the first half. So I feel like everybody just kind of gave extra, man. Everybody did everything they could tonight. Talking through that interception now before halftime, did you feel the momentum shift in that takeaway and then seeing the offense able to go down and punch it in? Yeah, man, it was awesome seeing that after I was able to make that play that the offense came and matched it. That's just complimentary football, and that definitely wins the games. When everybody is making plays, man, I feel like there were so many people tonight that they could have chose anybody to do media or whatever because I feel like everybody was making plays on offense, defense, special teams. And that's just – that's awesome for this program. Taka, can you take me through that play? Because the ball ended up getting tipped right there. Just what was kind of going through your mind during that play? Yeah, just saw the ball get tipped and kind of thrown right to me. So I just caught it and was excited, man. I was excited I was able to have that opportunity to make that play. When you look at the end of the game, the end of regulation, I should say, before overtime, was that one of the strangest occurrences you've ever been in, going into an extra period? Yeah, it was. I mean, there was so much going on, I was like, it kept changing, like, what was going on. And I was like, man, whatever, no matter what happens, it's like we're going to have to go out there and play again and execute and do what we got to do to win this game, whatever it may be. And so as long as we had an opportunity to go out there and win a game, I was just letting it play out. I think it's special because I just feel like it shows the belief that everybody in this building has and what UCF is capable of and the people that we have in this building. And we're able to show it on the big stage against the number two ranked team with BYU. So I feel like that will really help us in the future. Jack, going into this game, you knew that BYU was a tough group. They were going to try to run the ball a lot They're going to come at you. So having the opportunity of two games, what went differently in preparation knowing that as a linebacker the run game is going to be a big part of the game? Yeah, we definitely did have a tougher week this week with our coaches kind of just giving extra to us. Like I said, we had to find something else. We had to find more out of each and everybody. They just kind of preached to us, like, we have to get better. We have to work on our fundamentals, and it has to show up. So we definitely had an edge this week about the game plan. We knew we were going to need more to win. We knew we were a good team and we were capable of it, But we're gonna have to have more. How do you guys avoid a let down? You guys got the space game coming up on Friday, it's a short week. How do you guys try to avoid a let down? Man, I feel like with the team that we have and the people in this building, that we'll be able to put it behind us and don't worry about these next five games and see what we can really do. And try and go out there and win all of them, man. And I just feel like that's what the people in this building, kind of how the mentality is. So the coaches will definitely have us right, give us a good game plan so that we can go execute whatever they ask us to do. What was that locker room like? Man, it was special. Everybody just so happy. Just seeing the people that we work with every day, to your left and your right. A lot goes into this through the off season and through the season. And just seeing that everybody was able to go out there and do their thing. It was really awesome, so everybody's happy. I appreciate it.